In the usual course of opening a financial account, and particularly a demand deposit account, a consumer physically visits a bank, savings and loan, or credit union (i.e., a financial institution) of choice and provides account application information (e.g., personal information) that meets the financial institution's requirements for risk assessment and identity verification (e.g., name; address; social security number; an identification card, such as a driver's license; etc.). The consumer also provides funds to be used in opening the account. The consumer is then presented with and chooses between various account options. The account is then “opened” using the consumer's account application information, funds presented by the customer are placed in the account, and the consumer signs a signature card to be used to confirm later transactions.
With the growing use of the Internet and online services, such as online banking services, customers desire mechanisms and services for opening and funding a new account remotely in order to avoid having to physically visit a financial institution. In response, financial institutions have created a number of online account opening services. Using an online account opening service, a customer can provide account application information and can provide account information of an existing account (e.g., a checking account) that is to be used as a funding source for the new account. Since the customer is physically remote from the financial institution and cannot provide physical account verification or authorization (e.g., a paper check, a credit or debit card, or other paper documents), the financial institution must attempt to verify the customer and/or the funding source.
In many existing online account opening services, verifying the funding source of the customer can be intrusive and time-consuming. For example, in order to verify a funding source, a customer may be required to provide a username and a password or other security mechanisms for the funding source that can be used to access the funding source remotely (e.g., online). The financial institution associated with the online account opening service uses the supplied username and password to attempt to remotely access the funding source. If the financial institution can access the funding source, the financial institution can verify that the customer owns the funding source. Many customers, however, may be unwilling to provide access information for a funding source to a third-party. In addition, many customers may not have remotely-accessible funding sources.
Another method of verifying a funding source for a new account opened through an online account opening service involves making a small or micro payment of a random amount to a funding source of the customer. If the customer can verify the amount of money deposited in the funding source, the financial institution can verify that the customer owns the funding source. The process of making a micro payment to a funding source, however, can take several days to complete, and does not allow the customer to apply and open a new account within a single online session.